Latch



n, M'. Mmmm 3,495,352l

` LATCH' Feb. '17, 1970 2 sheets-shaml 1'l Filed March 8; 19468 United States Patent O LATCH Robert M. McClintock, Northridge, Calif., assiguor to Tridair Industries, Redondo Beach, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Mar. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 711,715

Int. Cl. Ec 1/12 U.S. Cl. 292-173 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure describes a latch which includes a housing constructed of sheet material and having a bathtub section formed therein. Guide block means mount a bolt within the bathtub section for movement between an extended and a retracted position. The bolt has a latching portion at one end and a laterally extending shoulder. Actuating means is pivotally mounted on the housing and includes a relatively flat handle and a lug extending into the bathtub section in engagement with the shoulder, so that by pivoting the actuator means, the latch can be moved to the retracted position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Some aircraft equipment, such as electronic gear, is retained within compartments in the airplane. The compartments are closed with thin panels or doors which are often of sandwich construction. These panels must be latched or locked in place with a suitable latch.

One important requirement of latches of this type is that they lbe no thicker than the thin panel so that they can be flush mounted therein. Prior art latches of this type are generally too thick to permit flush mounting in a relatively thin panel. Another requirement is that the latch be very strong and capable of withstanding substantial shear loads. Although it is a simple matter to make a strong latch, it is difl'lcult to make a strong latch which is of the requisite thinness and in which'the components thereof are not unduly heavy so as to increase the weight penalty on the aircraft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION dished section. The bathtub section includes a peripheral wall and a transverse end Wall and an aperture is formed in the peripheral wall. The bathtub section is shallow and provides a receptacle for the other parts of the latch.

The latch also includes a lbolt of minimum thickness which includes at least one laterally extending shoulder and a latching portion. The latch is mounted for move- 3,495,862 Patented Feb. 17, 1970 the bathtub section. Biasing means are provided for continuously urging the bolt toward the extended position thereof.

The latch also includes an actuator member and an important feature of this invention is the construction of the actuator member. The actuator member preferably includes a plate-like handle of minimum thickness overlying the bolt and actuator lug extending into the bathtub section and into engagement with the shoulder on the bolt. The actuator member is preferably pivotally mounted on the peripheral wall of the bathtub section so that the handle portion lies substantially flush with an attaching flange which surrounds the bathtub section. To retract the latch against the fbiasing force of the biasing means, the handle portion is pivoted to cause the lug to forcibly urge the shoulder and the bolt to the retracted position.

An important factor contributing to the thinness of the latch is that the lug is in the form of a very short, linger-like element. The handle of the actuator member lies very close to the bolt so that no space is wasted. This arrangement of a lug and shoulder is far superior to some of the slot arrangements appearing in the prior art. Slot arrangements are generally harder to assemble, preclude the obtaining of a very thin latch, and require additional material to construct and therefore add additional weight to the latch.

The best distribute the shear load which is inherently applied to the bolt during use thereof and to make the latch as strong as possible, the bolt is preferably mounted in a guide block which provides a relatively broad surface engageable with the bolt to support it. The broad supporting surface of the guide fblock reduces the stress in the guide block and therefore permits a relatively small latch to withstand substantial shear load. Use of a guide block which is separate from the housing but mounted therein is preferred because, (1) it is relatively diicult to form a strong broad supporting surface at the desired location for the Ibolt from sheet material; (2) the guide block can be in the form of a plastid block which (a) rigidies the sheet-like housing, (b) possesses self-lubricating features while maintaining the overall weight of the latch at a minimum and (c) can be molded into the intricate shape desired for the guide block.

The load which is transmitted to the guide block must also be transmitted to the housing. With the present invention, this advantageously acocmplished by providing an end flange on the housing adjacent to the opening in the peripheral wall of the bathtub section. The guide block preferably extends through the aperture in the peripheral Wall and is directly connected to the end flange preferably at two locations on opposite sides of the bolt.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of operation together with further features and advantages thereof may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of latch constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention, with the bolt being in the extended position.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the latch.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the latch.

FIG. 4 is a plan view with some parts broken away in section and taken generally along line 4 4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the latch with the actuator member raised and the bolt in the retracted position.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the housing with the housing being shown in the inverted position.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the guide block.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the bolt.

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of the latch installed in a honeycomb sandwich panel.

FIG. ll is a bottom plan view of a latch installed in the panel with portions of the latch being broken away to expose the honeycomb core.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1-6 thereof, reference numeral 11 designates a latch constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention. Generally, the latch 11 includes a housing 13, a guide block 15, a bolt 17, and an actuator member 19. A spring 21 normally urges the bolt 17 and the actuator member 19 to the extended position shown in FIG. 1. However, the actuator member 19 can be raised to the position shown in FIG. 6, against the biasing action of the spring 21 to retract the bolt 17.

With reference to FIGS. 1-3, `6 and 7, it can be seen that the housing 13 is integrally constructed of sheet metal. The housing 13 has a bathtub or dished section 23 surrounded by a peripheral attaching flange 25. An end ange 27 extends at a right angle to the attaching flange 25 adjacent one end of the bathtub section 23. The bathtub section 23 includes a peripheral wall 29 and a transverse end wall 31. The peripheral wall 29 preferably extends continuously around the bathtub section 23 and an aperture 33 is formed in one end thereof. In the embodiment illustrated, the aperture 33 is also partially formed in the end wall 31 and the end wall has a slot 36 therein.

The attaching ange 25 has several fastener holes 35 therein and preferably completely surrounds the bathtub section 23. The end flange 27 has an opening 37 therein which confronts the aperture 33 and which is shaped to receive a portion of the bolt 17. Attaching apertures 39 are located on opposite sides of the opening 37.

The bathtub section 23 forms a receptacle in which the other parts of the latch 11 are positioned. The guide block 15, which is mounted in the bathtub section 23, is preferably in the form of a shallow irregularly shaped basin as shown in FIG. 8. The guide block has a rather intricate shape, but it is preferably constructed of a plastic material so that the formation of such intricate shape is not at all difficult and may be accomplished, for example, with an injection molding process. The plastic material is preferably of the type which will perform a lubricating function and may be, for example, a glass lled polycarbonate. f

As bestseen in FIG. 8, the guide block 15 has a forward wall 41, a rear wall 43, side walls 45, and a bottom wall 47. All of the walls are very short so that the guide block 15 will easily t within the bathtub section 23. The guide block 15 serves to slidably mount the bolt 17 and to this end, the forward wall 41 is provided with a part cylindrical opening 49 and the rear wall 43 is provided with a cylindrical opening 51. Reinforcing members 53 extend forwardly from the rear wall 43 on either side of the opening 51. The guide block 15 is integrally constructed and the bottom wall 49 has an elongated slot 55 therein. Two mounting lugs 57 project forwardly of the forward wall 41 for the purpose of connecting the guide block 15 to the housing 13.

As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the guide block 15 is mounted within the bathtub section 23 and projects forwardly through the opening 33 therein. The guide 15 engages the end wall 31 of the bathtub section 23 and projects forwardly as far as the end ange 27 to which it is connected by the attaching lugs 57 which are lockingly received within the attaching apertures 39. As shown in FIG. 4, the guide block 15 is attached to the peripheral wall 29 by a pair of rivets 59. As shown in FIG. 5, the guideblock 15 does not extend to the top of the peripheral wall 29.

As shown in FIG. 9, the bolt 17 is also an integral member and is preferably constructed of metal. The bolt 17 includes a head or latching portion 61, a neck portion 63, a pair of operating lugs 65, and a shank portion 67. The operating lugs 65 project laterally of the neck portion `63 and the shank portion 67 and deline laterally extending shoulders arms 69, respectively.

The bolt 17 is mounted in the guide block 15 as shown in FIGS. 4-6. Thus, the shank portion 67 is received in the opening 51 of the guide block 15 and the latching portion 61 is received in the opening 49. The openings 49 and 51 mount the bolt 17 for sliding movement. The spring 21 surrounds the shank portion 67 as shown in FIGS. 4-6 and bears against the lugs 65 to urge the bolt 17 to the extended position or to the left as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The actuator member 19 (FIGS. l, 4, 5 and 6) is an integral rigid metal member and includes a at plate-like handle portion 71 and a pair of short, spaced, rigid lugs 73. One end of the handle portion 71 is thickened and forms a passageway for receiving a pin 75 which pivotally mounts the actuator member 19 to opposed sides of the peripheral wall 29. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the handle portion 71 is substantially flush with the flange 25 when the bolt 17 is in the extended position. The two lugs 73 project into the bathtub section 23 and engage the shoulders 69, respectively. The neck portion 63 of the bolt 17 projects in between the lugs 73 and is guided thereby. The handle portion 71 overlies the bolt 17 and a portion of the guide block 15. The guide block 15, the bolt 17, and the actuator member 19 are all of minimum thickness and located as close together as possible t0 make the latch 11 very thin. l

Normally, the spring 21 engages the lugs 65 of the bolt 17 and urges the bolt 17 to the extended position shown in FIGS. l, 3, 4 and 5. The shoulders 69 of the lugs 65 bear against the lugs 73 of the actuator member 19 and tend to pivot the actuator member clockwise as viewed in FIG. 5. The actuator member 19 is prevented from pivoting clockwise beyond the position shown in FIG. 5 by virtue by its engagement with the upper surface of the guide block 15. Thus, the components of the latch 11 are normally in the position shown in FIG. 5.

When it is desired to retract the bolt 17 to permit opening of the panel to which the latch 11 is fastened, the user extends one or more fingers into the bathtub section 23 and lifts on the portion of the handle portion 71 `which extends rearwardly beyond the guide block 15 and pulls thereon. This pulling action causes the actuator member 19 to pivot about the pin 75 to the position shown in FIG. 6. As the lugs 73 of the actuator member 19 are in engagement with the shoulders 69 of the bolt 17, such pivotal movement retracts the bolt 17 to a retracted position (FIG. 6) against the influence of the spring 21. The members 53 limit the travel of the bolt 17 toward the retracted position. To return the bolt 17 to the extended position, the user merely releases the actuator member 19, and the spring 21 is operative to automatically return the component parts of the latch 11 to the extended position.

If it is desired to operate the bolt 17 from both sides of the latch 11, a knob 77 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 5) may be directly attached to the bolt 17. The knob 77 then projects through a slot 36 in the end wall 31 of the housing 13 and through the slot 55 in the guide block 15.

FIGS. and 11 show how the latch 11 can be flush mounted in a honeycomb panel 78. As shown in FIG. 10, the honeycomb panel 78 includes face sheets 79 and 81 with a honeycomb core 83 sandwiched therebetween. To mount the latch 11 in the panel, the face sheet 79 and the core 83 are removed to the extent necessary to form an opening sized to receive the bathtub section 23. In the embodiment shown, the panel 78 is cut away to an edge 85 thereof so that the end flange 77 now forms an edge strip for the panel 78. The attaching iiange 25 overlaps the face sheet 79 and suitable fasteners 87 extend through the apertures 35 in the ange 25' to secure the latch 11 to the panel 78. As shown in FIG. 10, an adjacent panel 89 provides a latching element 91 for cooperation with the bolt 17 to maintain the panel 78 in the closed position. The bolt 17 is, however, retractable to the position shown in phantom in FIG. 10 to permit the panel 78 to be removed or swung away from the adjacent panel 89.

Although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, many changes, modifications, and substitutions may be made by one having ordinary skill in the art without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a latch, the combination of:

a housing constructed of sheet material and having a bathtub section therein, said bathtub section having generally opposed side walls and opening means at one end thereof;

a bolt having a latching portion adjacent one end thereof and a laterally extending arm;

a guide block;

means for mounting said guide block on said housing with said guide block being at least partially in said bathtub section, said guide block mounting said bolt for movement in said bathtub section between an extended position in which the latching portion of the bolt projects through said opening means and a retracted position in which said bolt is retracted inwardly toward the bathtub section;

biasing means for urging said bolt toward said extended position thereof; and

an actuator member pivotally mounted on the housing, said actuator member overlying said bolt and having a short actuator lug projecting toward said bolt and engageable with said laterally extending arm of said bolt whereby pivoting of said actuator member causes said actuator lug to move said bolt to the retracted position thereof.

2. A combination as dened in claim 1 wherein said housing includes a flange around the upper edge of the bathtub section, said actuator includes a plate-like handle portion and said actuator is pivotally mounted on the side walls of the bathtub section with the handle portion substantially flush with said flange.

3. A combination as dened in claim 1 wherein said actuator member has two of said actuator lugs mounted in spaced relationship to deline a gap therebetween and said bolt has two of said arms engageable with said lugs, and said bolt extends through said gap in close proximity to said arms.

4. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said actuator member includes a plate-like handle portion having a thickened region adjacent one end thereof and having a passageway extending through the thickened region, and a pin projecting through said passageway and connected to said side walls for pivotally connecting the actuator member to the housing.

5. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said lug is not surrounded by said bolt.

6. A combination as delined in claim 1 wherein said bathtub section has a peripheral wall which includes said side walls and said opening means extends through said peripheral wall, said guide block extending through said opening means, said housing including an end ilange adjacent the guide block, said guide block supporting said bolt and being connected to said end ange.

7. In a latch, the combination of a housing constructed of sheet material and having a dished section and an end iiange, said dished section having a peripheral wall and a transverse end wall, said housing having an aperture extending through the peripheral wall adjacent said end flange, said end flange having an opening therein confronting the aperture in the peripheral wall;

a guide block mounted on said dished section of the housing, said guide block being at least substantially engageable with the end wall of the dished section and projecting through said aperture means toward said end flange;

means for connecting the guide block to the end ilange whereby loads imposed on the guide block are transmitted to the end llange;

a bolt having a latching portion;

means on said guide block including an opening adjacent said opening in said end ange for mounting said bolt for movement between an extended position in which said latching portion projects through and outwardly beyond the opening in the end flange 'and a retracted position in which said latching portion is moved inwardly of the extended position; and

means for moving said bolt between said positions thereof.

8. A combination as defined in claim 7 wherein said guide block is constructed of a plastic material and said housing is constructed of sheet metal.

9. A combination as defined in claim 7 wherein said guide block has a relatively broad surface defining said opening therein and said bolt is engageable therewith in said extended position thereof whereby the shear stress on the guide block is reduced.

10. A latch comprising:

wall means of sheet material for defining a housing,

said wall means having an opening therein;

ya bolt having a latching portion adjacent one end thereof and an abutment;

a guide block;

means for mounting said guide block on said housing with said guide block being at least partially in said housing, said guide block mounting said bolt for movement in said housing between an extended position in which the latching portion of the bolt projects through said opening and a retracted position in which said bolt is retracted inwardly toward the housing;

biasing means for urging said bolt toward said extended position thereof; and

an actuator member pivotally mounted on the housing, said actuator member overlying said bolt and having a short actuator lug projecting toward said bolt and engageable with said abutment of said bolt whereby pivoting of said actuator member causes said actuator lug to move said bolt to the retracted position thereof.

11. A combination as deined in claim 10 wherein said guide block is constructed of a plastic material.

12. A latch comprising:

a housing constructed of sheet material and having a dished section therein, said dished section having generally opposed side walls and opening means at one end thereof, said housing having a flange of sheet material surrounding the dished section;

a bolt having a latching portion at one end thereof and a laterally extending arm;

means for mounting said bolt for movement in said dished section between an extended position in which the latching portion of the bolt projects through said opening means and a retracted position in which said bolt is retracted inwardly toward the dished section;

biasing means in the dished section for urging said bolt toward said extended position thereof; and

an actuator member pivotally mounted on said side walls of the housing, said actuator member including a plate member overlying said bolt and having a short actuator lug integral with the plate member and projecting toward said lbolt intoengagement with said laterally extending arm of said bolt, said plate member being pivotable to move said bolt to the restructure which surrounds said lug whereby pivoting of said plate member causes said actuator lug to move said bolt to the retracted position thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,764,441 9/1956 Marko 292-173 2,916,905 12/1959 Podlesak 70-150 traeted position thereof, said bolt being devoid of 10 J KARL BELL Primary Examiner 

